Heater for oil wells



JQR. VAND EVER HEATER FOR OIL WELLS Filed Nov. 2, 1934 This invention relates to chemical heaters for Patented Mar. 24, 1936 HEATER FOR OIL WELLS James R. Vandever, Pampa, Tex., assignor to Richard P. Abele, as trustee, Tulsa, Okla.

Application November 2, 1934, Serial No. 751,214 9 Claims. (01. 166-17) .oil wells. More particularly, it relates to that general class of heaters which are adapted to be lowered into an oil well to the level of the oil producing strata and which serve to melt paraiilne and other solidified petroleum materials which, in many cases, materially limit the pro- :ductivity :of a well.

This application is a continuation in part of my copending application Serial No. 731,537, filed June '20, 1934, Patent 2,004,452, June 11, 1935.

The general :objectof this invention is to provide a heater of this generic class which contains, separated from each other, a plurality of materials, which when mixed will produce an exothermic reaction, generating suificient heat to melt :a substantial portion of the solidified petroleum products in .the .oil producing'strata of the well. Means are provided :so that when the heater has reached .the bottom of the well, the materials separately contained therein may be brought into contact with each other to produce the required reaction.

.As has been explained in my prior copending =application :a'bove referred to, it is desirable in heaters of this type to prevent :the materials within the heater from coming into contact with the producing strata of the well, and yet to prowide adequate means for the escape of steam and gases resulting from the reaction within the heater.

Morespecifically, one object of the present in- :vention is to provide :a structure which'will bring about a thorough association of the materials to mixed thus insuring a complete chemical re- .action.

:Another object consists in 'the provision of means for conducting the steam and gases re- :sulting from the reaction from the heater in a .manner which will interfere as little as possible withiprogress of the reaction and mixing of the materials.

:Still further the present invention :contem- :plates the provision of a heater :having .a cen- :trally :disposed equalizing chamber and means for conducting the gases from the mixing chamber into the upper portion thereof in order that these :gases will not interfere with the downward .zflow of fluid to the vmixing chamber.

Yet another object of the invention .consists in the provision of valve means for controlling the escape of .gas from the portion of the housin which the chemicals, are mixed in order :to maintainsthe pressure therein, during the re- 3 action atza predetermined maximum.

of the invention will become apparent from the following specification when considered in connection with the accompanying drawing.

In the drawing: Figure 1 is a side elevation of the improved housing, broken away at several points between the ends;

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view of the improved housing showing the interior arrangement of parts with the main valve in the closed position;

Figure 3 is a detail view of one of the valves controlling communication. between the. equaliz ing chamber and the upper chamber. With more particular reference to the draw-' ing, the heater comprises a housing which includes a number of separable parts. The lower end of the housing comprises a rounded end meme Still other :and further objects and advantages her I which is screwed into one side of a coupling 2, which has a suitable length of cylindrical -casing 3 threaded into the opposite side thereof.

The upper end of the housing is closed by means of a tapered end member 4 secured to a coupling 5 which hasa casing element 6 secured to the opposite side thereof. The casing element 6 is of the same diameter as the casing element 3 but somewhat shorter. The casing elements 3 and 6 are joined together by means of a coupling element 1., the function of which will appear more clearly hereinafter.

The coupling 1 has a cylindrical internally threaded portion and in the axial central portion :has a radially disposed inwardly extending web 1 The web '1 has a circular aperture there through having a conical valve seat therein adapted to cooperate with a conically faced valve 8. The valve 8 is actuated by an upwardly extending valve stem 9 which is connected by means of a suitable universal connection NJ to a valve op- .erating rod II. The upper end element '4 of the housing "is provided with a packing gland 12 through which the valve actuating rod l l mayreciprocate but which serves to prevent the access .of foreign matter to the interior of the housing, or the escape of material within the housing to the outside. The upperend of the valve actuat ing rod H is provided with an eye l3 to which a suitable cable may be fastened for lowering the housing into the well. It will be apparent from the foregoing that as the housing is lowered into the well by means of the cable the weight of the housing will maintain the valve .8 in tight engagement with its seat.

Located in the web I of coupling element 1 between the central aperture therein and the cylindrical portion are a plurality of ports l5, one of which is illustrated in detail in Fig. 3. The upper mouths of these ports are ground to fit a ball valve [6 which is guided in its movement by a cage l1 and is pressed against its seat by means of a relatively strong coil spring IS. The force exerted by the coil spring l8 upon the ball [6 is controlled by an adjustable stud l9 threadedly mounted in the cage l1 and having its lower end engaging the upper end of the coil spring 18 and which may be locked in adjusted position by means of a lock nut 20.

Mounted centrally of the end portion I of the housing is a pipe 25 having a plurality of perforations 26 therein. This pipe extends axially centrally of the housing a substantial distance to a point just below a partition wall 21. The partition is secured to the walls of the housing 3, providing a. fluid tight wall dividing the housing into separate lower and central chambers 28 and 29 respectively. As has already been noted, the web I separates the chamber 29 from an upper chamber of the housing 30. Therefore, it will now be clear that the housing is divided into three chambers 28, 29 and 30, the latter two being superimposed above the chamber 28.

An aperture 3| is provided in the axial central portion of the partition 21 in which is mounted a relatively short downwardly extending tube 32 which extends a short distance into the upper end of the perforated pipe 25. The upper end of the pipe 25 is flared to form a conical valve seat 33 for an annular valve body 34 which is slidably mounted on the downwardly extending tube 32. A compression coil spring 35 surrounds the tube 32 and has one end abutting against the wall 21 and the other against the upper surface of the valve body 34 inorder to maintain this valve body normally in engagement with its seat.

A second aperture 36 is provided in the partition 21 in which is mounted an upwardly extending tube 31 which extends well up into the upper portion of the chamber 29. This tube 31 as will be seen hereafter serves to conduct gases and vapors generated in the lower chamber into the upper portion of the central chamber in order that these gases will not interfere with the downward movement of fluid into the lower chamber.

The upper chamber 30 is provided with a pair of escape valves each of which comprises a sleeve member 40 threaded into the upper end member 4 of the housing and each sleeve has a valve seat and a ball valve 4| urged against its seat by means of a compression spring 42.

In the operation of the heater described above the annular space between the housing wall and the pipe 25 is partially filled with a suitable heat generating mixture such as caustic soda and aluminium cuttings. The housing is then suspended by the eye I3 at the upper end of the valve operating rod H which brings the valve 8 into tight engagement with its seat. The filler plug 42 is then removed and the upper chamber partially filled with water, sufiicient water being introduced to insure a complete reaction. The plug is then replaced and the housing is lowered into the well by means of a suitable cable secured to the eye [3 in the valve operating rod.

When the bottom of the well is reached, the tension on the valve operating rod will be relieved and the water will be permitted to descend into the central chamber. The central chamber is of suflicient size and the tube 31 of sufficient length so that when all the water in the upper chamber has descended into the central chamber the surface level thereof will still be substantially below the upper end of the tube 31. This water will then pass downwardly through the tube 32 and into the pipe 25. It will then pass outwardly through the perforations 26 in the pipe into immediate contact with the caustic soda and aluminum cuttings. This will imediately cause a reaction resulting in the generation of considerable heat. As a result of this reaction considerable steam and gas will also be generated which will be permitted to pass off through the tube 31. It will be seen that any steam or gas generated in the pipe 25 will accumulate in the upper portion thereof and may be released by the annular valve body 34- into the upper portion of the lower chamber in order that it will not interfere with the downward movement of fluid from the central chamber into the lower chamber.

As soon as the water in the upper chamber has had time to flow down into the central chamber, the heater housing is raised slightly from the bottom of the well thus seating the valve 8 against its seat. As the reaction takes place considerable pressure will be built up in the central and lower chambers until the pressure becomes sufliciently great to unseat the ball valves I6. As has been explained above these valves may be adjusted to open at any predetermined pressure, hence the maximum pressure permitted to exist in the central and lower chambers may be controlled. The gas and vapor which escapes into the upper chamber 30 may escape therefrom through the escape valves 40. i

The retention of considerable pressure in the lower chambers of the housing serves materially to intensitfy the heat produced and increase the efliciency of the heater.

Many other advantages of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art;

What I claim is:

1. A heater for oil wells comprising a closed housing adapted to be lowered into an oil well, partitions within said housing dividing it into upper, lower and central chambers, a valve controlling the flow of fluid from said upper chamber into said central and lower chambers, and means for conducting gas and vapor generated in said lower chamber to the upper:portion of said central chamber.

2. A heater for oil wells comprising a closed housing adapted to be lowered into a well, said housingbeing divided internally to provide three chambers, a valve controlling the flow of fluid from said upper chamber to said lower chambers, and valves for maintaining a predetermined pressure in said lower chambers.

3. A heater for oil wells comprising a housing adapted to be lowered into a well to be heated,

said housing being divided internally into an upper chamber, a lower chamber and a relatively large central chamber, and a remotely controlled valve for controlling the flow of fluid from said upper chamber into said central and lower chambers.

4. A heater for oil wells comprising a housing adapted to be lowered into a well to be heated, said housing being divided internally to form an upper chamber, a lower chamber and a central chamber, remotely controlled means for permitting fluid from said upper chamber into said central and lower chambers, and means for conducting gas from said lower chamber to the upper portion of said central chamber.

5. A heater for oil wells comprising a housing adapted to be lowered into the well to be heated, said housing being divided internally to form an upper chamber, a lower chamber and a central chamber, said lower chamber containing a chemical, said upper chamber containing a fluid which when brought into contact with said chemical, will produce an exothermic reaction, a remotely controlled valve for allowing the fluid to pass from said upper chamber into said central chamber where said fluid may gradually pass into said lower chamber to produce such reaction, and valve means for controlling the pressure result ing from said reaction.

6. A heater for oil wells comprising a housing adapted to be lowered into the well to be heated, said housing being divided internally to form an upper chamber, a lower chamber and a central chamber, said lower chamber containing a chemical, said upper chamber containing a fluid which when brought into contact with said chemical, will produce an exothermic reaction, a remotely controlled valve for allowing the fluid to pass from said upper chamber into said central chamber where said fluid may gradually pass into said lower chamber to produce such reaction, and escape valves between said central and upper chamber for allowing the escape of gas in excess of a predetermined pressure.

7. A heater for oil wells comprising a housing adapted to be lowered into a well to be heated, said housing being divided internally intoan upper chamber, a lower chamber and a central chamber, a chemical contained in said lower chamber, a fluid contained in said upper chamber, means for controlling the flow of fluid from said upper chamber into said central chamber, means for conducting said fluid into contact with the chemical in said lower chamber, and means for conducting gas generated in said lower chamber therefrom without interfering with the passage of fluid into said lower chamber.

8. A heater for oil wells comprising a, housing adapted to be lowered into a well to be heated, said housing being divided internally into an upper chamber, a lower chamber and a central chamber, a chemical contained in said lower chamber, a fluid contained in said upper chamber, means for controlling the flow of fluid from said upper chamber into said central chamber, means for conducting said fluid into contact with the chemical in said lower chamber, and means for conducting gas from said lower chamber to the upper portion of said central chamber above the surface of the fluid therein.

9. A heater for oil wells comprising a housing adapted to be lowered into a well to be heated, said housing being divided internally into an 'upper chamber, a lower chamber and a central chamber, a chemical contained in said lower chamber, a fluid contained in said upper chamber, means for controlling the flow of fluid from said upper chamber into said central chamber, means for conducting said fluid into contact with the chemical in said lower chamber, means for conducting gas from said lower chamber to the upper portion of said central chamber, and means for maintaining the pressure in said central and lower chambers at a predetermined maximum.

JAMES R. VANDEVER. 

